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10The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, October 1 1, 1989
flatly OlariUM
97th year of editorial freedom
Sharon Kebschull, Editor
WlLUAM TAGGART, Managing Editor
MARY Jo IXJNNINCTON, Editorial Page Editor
JUSTIN McGuiRE, University Editor
KAREN Dunn, State and National Editor
TOM PARKS, Business Editor
DAVE GLENN, Sports Editor
MELANIE BLACK, Design Editor
TAMMY BLACKARD, Editorial Page Editor
JENNY CLONINGER, University Editor
Jessica Lanning, City Editor
CARA Bonnett, Arts and Features Editor
Kelly Thompson, Omnibus Editor
DAVID SurOWIECKI, Photography Editor
Julia Coon, Nexvs Editor
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Republican ruckus
College group embarrasses party
board
opinion
Last week, Ar- -noldo
Ramos, a guest
of the University and
the Institute of Latin
American Studies, got a chance to experi
ence first-hand the political immaturity of
the UNC College Republicans. Ramos was
invited to UNC to give a presentation en
titled "Prospects for Peace' to raise aware
ness of problems in Latin America, but
when he arrived to give his speech, he was
confronted by students with signs calling
him a "communist pig."
Ramos was a professor in El Salvador
until he was forced to leave in 1981, when
his life was threatened by Salvadoran death
squads. Ramos' involvement with apoliti
cal group that had ties to the Communist
Party prompted the threats. His speech was
supposed to increase understanding of the
problems of El Salvador.
But instead of staying for the presenta
tion and contributing to the discussion that
followed, most of the protesters left. It is
the right and duty of any group to speak out
against injustice and corruption wherever
it may exist, but the College Republicans'
failure to engage in open political discus
sions seems to demonstrate close-minded-ness.
This is not the first time this group,
which should represent its parent party,
has shown its unwillingness to accept any
thing other than the ultra-conservative party
line. In September, the College Republi
cans distributed posters denouncing the
CIA Action Committee (CIAAC). The
posters said the CIAAC prevented stu
dents from hearing the truth about the CIA,
stopped student job interviews with CIA
recruiters and vandalized private property.
A representative of the CIAAC referred to
the action as "juvenile" and offered the
College Republicans an open invitation to
publicly discuss these accusations. The
College Republicans did not respond to
this offer. It's interesting that a group so set
on making certain the truth be heard would
fail to take advantage of an open debate.
Are they so insecure of their position that
they fear any opposing viewpoints?
The Republican Party is an established
and respected organization with a distin
guished history, but the tactics of the UNC
College Republicans are an embarrass
ment to this university and damaging to a
legitimate political party. Many Republi
cans on campus refuse to work with the
organization because it only reflects the
radical, right-wing position and not the
entire party.
Attending UNC should allow students
the chance to experience opposing views
that strengthen their understanding of life.
But members of the College Republicans
are more concerned with spreading their
own dogma without reasons to back it up
than with engaging in debate. The opin
ions of the College Republicans should be
heard to ensure open exchange of ideas,
but there is a difference between educated
opinion and unfounded propaganda. How
long will Republicans on this campus al
low themselves to be represented by a
group whose strongest weapons are strong
arm tactics, personal slurs and heckling?
Don't blame victim
Verdict reveals ignorance about rape
A verdict handed down in a Florida circuit
court last week has left many people across the
nation outraged and rightly so. A jury of
three men and three women acquitted drifter
Steven Lord of raping a 22-year-old woman.
Their reason: The woman, who at the time of
the rape was wearing a tank top, a lace mini
skirt and no underwear, was "asking for it."
Despite the woman's testimony that Lord
abducted her from a Fort Lauderdale parking
lot at knife-point and then raped her repeatedly,
the jurors did not find
Lord guilty. In the
words of the jury fore
man: "The way she was
dressed with that skirt,
you could see every
thing she had. She was
advertising for sex."
This case makes it
painfully clear that our
society still does not b
comprehend that rape is a violent crime, not an
act of sex. Jurors would never acquit a burglar
on the grounds that the person who left her
house unlocked actually wanted her property to
be stolen. Nor would they acquit a thug on the
grounds that an elderly man, looking vulner
able as he walked down the street with a cane,
deserved to be mugged and beaten.
Unfortunately, too many people still equate
rape with sex. Indiana basketball coach Bobby
Knight reportedly once said that a woman being
raped should just lie back and enjoy it. Such
attitudes as this only serve to condone a brutal
and humiliating crime. And that same crime
becomes all the more brutal and humiliating for
the victim when she is the one blamed for
another's barbaric act against her.
It is also disturbing to note that many who
disagree with the jury 's verdict would still fault
the woman for wearing revealing clothing.
Does this mean that women who wear bikinis
on the beach are at fault if they are assaulted?
Perhaps American women should be kept under
modest veils to "protect" them from the evils of
society an easier "solution" than actually
refusing to accept rape as an inevitable evil of
society. If our society is as free as we like to
believe, a woman should be able to wear
nHBm without fear of rape
what she wants to wear.
Is it any wonder,
then, that only a frac
tion of rape victims
actually press charges
against those who have
violated them? While
A woman should be
able to wear without
the fear of rape
what she wants to wean tZlf
mmmm and moral outrage
against rape is for victims to come forward, no
one wants to make accusations that are likely to
be turned against her. The notion that "nice
girls don't get raped" is outright fiction, yet its
prevalence prevents justice from being served
much more often than not.
The sick irony in the Florida case is that
following his acquittal, Lord was ordered to
return to Georgia to stand trial for other rape
charges. This should send a strong message that
rapists are not normal individuals who just get
"turned on" by a little flesh. It is high time we
started putting the blame for rape where it
belongs, with no excuses. Let's hope justice
will reign in Georgia the beating it took in
Florida is simply inexcusable. Mary Jo
Dunnington
The Daily Tar Heel
Editorial Writers: James Burroughs and Jennifer Wing.
Assistant Editors: Jessica Yates, arts and features; Kim Avetta, Karen Dennis and Wendy Johnson, design; Charles
Brittain, editorial page; Staci Cox, managing; B Buckberry and Steve Wilson, news; Lisa Reichle and Richard Smith,
Omnibus; Evan Eile, photography, Andrew Podolsky, Jay Reed and Jamie Rosenberg, sports; Kari Barlow, state and
national; Will Spears and Amy Wajda, university;
Writers: Steve Adams, Craig Allen, Cathy Apgar, Marcie Bailey, Tim Bennett, Crystal Bernstein, Jennifer Blackwell,
Lynette Blair, Wendy Bounds, Stephen Bryan, Sarah Cagle, Julie Campbell, Tern Canaday, Heather Clapp, Judy Dore, Wagner
Dotto, Mark Folk, Julie Gammill, Kevin Greene, Chris Helms, Joey H ill, Katherine Houston, Stephanie Johnston, Gabriele Jones,
Stacey Kaplan, Jason Kelly, Lloyd Lagos, Tracy Lawson, David Lloyd, Rheta Logan, Sheila Long, Alan Martin, Kimberly
Maxwell, Beth Meckley, Jeff Moyer, Helle Nielsen, Glenn O'Neal, Simone Pam, Jannette Pippin, Myron Pitts, Becky Riddick,
Vanessa Shelton, Katherine Snow, Kyle York Spencer, Mike Sutton, Bill Taggart, Cameron Tew, Christine Thomas, Tim Truzy,
Emilie Van Poucke, Sandy Wall, Chuck Williams, Nancy Wykle. Monica Paris, newsclerk.
Sports: Neil Amato, Mark Anderson, Jason Bates, John Bland, Laurie Dhue, Christina Frohock, Scott Gold, Warren Hynes,
Doug Hoogervorst, David Kupstas, Bethany Litton, Bobby McCroskey, Brock Page, Natalie Sekicky, Eric Wagnon and Steve
Walston.
Arts and Features: Cheryl Allen, Lisa Antonucci, Noah Bartolucci, Clark Benbow, Shields Brewer, Gretchen Davis, Diana
Florence, Cricket French, Wendy Grady, Vicki Hyman, Mara Lee, Tim Little, Matthew McCafferty, Carrie McLaren, Elizabeth
Murray, D'Ann Pletcher, Leigh Pressley, Eric Rosen, Hasie Sirisena, Heather Smith, Brian Springer, Bevin Weeks and Laura
Williams.
Photography: Steven Exum, Regina Holder, Tracey Langhome and Kathy Michel.
Copy Editors: James Benton, Susan Comfort, Rebecca Duckett, Joy Golden, Stephanie Harper, Angela Hill, Susan
Holdsclaw, Anne Isenhower, Debrah Norman, George Quintero, JoAnn Rodak, Kristin Scheve, Joe Seagle, Kelley Shaw, Clare
Weickert, Steffanie Woodfin and Cameron Young.
Cartoonists: Adam Cohen, Pete Corson, Alex De Grand, David Estoye, Greg Humphreys and Mike Sutton.
Business and Advertising: Kevin Schwartz, director; Bob Bates, advertising director; Leslie Humphrey, classified ad
manager; Kirsten Burkart, assistant classified ad manager; Janet Gordon, Angela Spivey, classified assistants; Amanda Tilley,
advertising manager; Sabrina Goodson, business manager; Allison Ashworth, assistant business manager; Lora Gay, Kristi
Greeson, Beth Harding, Lavonne Leinster, Tracy Proctor, Kevin Reperowitz, Alicia Satterwhite, Pam Thompson and Jill Whitley,
display advertising representatives; Kim Blass, creative director; Pam Strickland, marketing director; Sherrie Davis, Ingrid
Jones, Shannon Kelly and Tammy Newton, sales assistants; Laura Richards, typist.
Subscriptions: Ken Murphy, manager.
Distribution: RDS Carriers.
Production: Bill Leslie and Stacy Wynn, managers; Anita Bentley, assistant manager; Brian Campbell, Stephanie Locklear,
John Nipp and Greg Miller, assistants.
Printing: The Village Companies.
Wednesday's horoscope for a majoir
They call them the Big Three. That is, the
three questions that supposedly bring you
closer to interpersonal harmony here in col
lege, the three questions that get indelibly
stamped on our forehead for four years,, the
three statements that provide the countdown
to the scamming launch pad. And you girls
know them well.
"So what's your name?" "You're sort of
cute. Do you speak in complete sentences?"
"And where are you from?" "In fact, you're
really cute. Perhaps by showing an interest in
your rearing, I can appear sensitive and in
quisitive." Then we all know what question comes
next. Girls know to beware the guy who goes
this far, 'cause he's probably in it for a lot
more than a bagel and a handshake.
"So ... what's your major?"
And of course, now's the time to pause. Is
this guy really interested in my cross-listed
chemistry requirements, or is he trying to lull
me into a false sense of gettin-to-know-ya
security? Good lord, would he like to know
about my career intentions or does he want to
put his tongue down my throat? Do I need a
prerequisite to talk to this dude? Can I take
him passfail?
Well, if what we major in is really that big
of a social deal, perhaps it would be a good
idea to know what it all means. So here is a
playmate horoscope of majors, made for those
people who are having trouble either selecting
an academic goal or a mate.
English - Folks major in English because
you can be artsy without having to be terribly
creative. He doesn't walk, he saunters; she
doesn't joke, she quips. The English major is
the guy at the head of the table, holding his
glass of wine (an elusive Eau de Cheveux
1967, flaccid yet poignant) aloft, entreating
his guests to a cornucopia of witty banter.
Turn-ons: Cheap wine ("vino"), The
Miller's Tale, angst and sunsets
Turn-offs: Stephen King, bowling, dan
gling modifiers
BusinessEcon - These guys hate being
lumped together, but they're both out for the
same thing, no matter how well they articulate
their defense. Sensual, caring women, beware
the fast-talking econ major - for him romance
is a graphed world of supply, demand, strate
gic inflation and indifference curves.
Turn-ons: Oldsmobiles, Roman numerals
Ian Williams
Wednesday's
Child
after names, continuously compounding cer
tificates of deposit
Turn-offs: poetry, back rubs, Sanford and
Son
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: Oat Bran Flakes
(unsweetened)
Foreign Language - The gentle lass who
makes her major a different one than the one
she dreams in always has a story to tell. The
side of the brain that gives us our ability to
perform inflections and accents also houses
emotion and passion, so don't take these folks
lightly.
Turn-ons: amour, amore or liebe (depend
ing on what floor Dey Hall)
Turn-offs: bad accents, bad grammar, the
United States
Breakfast Cereal: Mueslix
RTVMP - So what if it's an easy major?
These guys revel in the fact that while the rest
of us are writing 10-page papers on political
existentiality, they get to watch "Three's
Company" for credit. Even when the going
gets rough with film editing later on, they have
the mental strength left to do it. So who
learned more in college?
Turn-ons: MASH, boom shots, FCC
regulations
Turn-offs: AM Country radio stations,
"Punky Brewster," Spring Break 3-D
Breakfast Cereal: Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles
Chemistry - Chemists may lack integral
social skills, they may wear dark blue Wran
gler jeans on the weekends, and they might
stop at yellow lights and say stuff like "my
kingdom for an Advil," but women, be on
your guard - they can not only buy you dinner,
but diagram your salad's molecular structure.
"Are all nerds as good as you?" the ultimate
sorority babe asks in Revenge of the Nerds.
"Yes," Gilbert replies, "All jocks think about
are sports. All we think about is sex."
Turn-ons: cantharidin, isopropyl alcohol,
four-color pens
Turn-offs: RTVMP majors
Breakfast Cereal: Smurf-Berry Crunch
(F.D.& C. Blue Dye No. 7)
Journalism - Besides the glamour gals of the
television journalism track, the news and editing
people have got a glare that can curdle milk
across the room. Hopelessly anal, they're the
ones who walk around campus with burning
humorless intensity. Journalism majors will cut
you off when you're trying to merge, steal your
parking place and take the last glazed donut.
Turn-ons: the facts
Turn-offs: USA Today, nebulosity, vague
ness, waffling
Psychology - Some people become psych
majors to help others, but most of them do it to
help themselves. Unfortunately, enough classes
on the abnormalities of the human psyche will
make anybody think that they must be screwed
up in some regard, so the psych major intellec
tualizes himself into a neurotic wad of Silly
Putty. "Well," the psych major thinks at himself,
"I'm making my bed, which must mean I'm
anally retentive and my mother criticized me for
my bowel movements as a child and I've been
conditioned to project my id onto Piaget's 3rd
stage of inkblots and ... and ... Jesus, where's my
pillow?"
Turn-ons: mother ... No, no, I'm sorry ...
Turn-offs: low self-esteem, Pavlov's damn
dog experiment, the smell behind Davie
Breakfast Cereal: What do you mean by that
question?
Other Deadly Combinations:
Folklore and Dentistry - Could you imagine
this guy around a campfire?
Nutrition and Peace, War & Defense - The
girl who has this double major is definitely not
going to grow up to be a Kool-Aid Mom. "No
way I'm gonna have dinner at Joey's house ..."
Religion and Chemistry - Didn't Jim Jones
already try something like this? I'm not sure if I
like the sound of it.
Music and Psychology - This guy says he'll
be able to play a wonderful sonata and then tell
you why you liked it, but usually tends to be an
egocentric, overgeneralizing, unmerciful critic
on everyth ... wait a minute ...
Ian Williams is a senior music and psychol
ogy major from Los Angeles, Calif, who advises
freshmen not to choose a major until they're
good 'n' ready.
headers9 Foramm
Congress deserves
some praise, too
To the editor:
I feel compelled to respond to
some comments in Matt Bivens'
column "Student Congress: Time
for change" (Oct. 5). I do not write
either to refute or support his criti
cisms of individual congress
members and recent issues, but
rather to defend the institution of
the legislative branch itself. Per
haps, as Bivens says, there is a
need for some reforms any
governmental body that is not
subject to evolution is bound to be
ineffective but there is no call
to "ditch Student Congress en
tirely." Bivens correctly identi
fies that many congress represen
tatives are deeply committed to
working on behalf of student's
interests, and they do so with little
thanks. The vast amount of time
put in by the individual members
of congress goes unnoticed and
certainly unheralded. As a former
member of the congress, I am
disheartened to see so little cover
age or interest in the many posi
tive initiatives and efforts being
undertaken on behalf of the stu
dent body by the legislative branch
of government. ,
The history of student govern
ment is a strong one of which we
can all be proud. The Student
Congress and its predecessors
have provided a great service to
its constituents that should not be
ignored. Like any form of govern
ment, there may be flaws in its
structures or its actions, but I
would eneourage any criticism to
be constructive and any concerns
to be voiced by constituents to
their representatives. Students
may feel that there is need for
change in congress, but that does
not mean that the baby should be
thrown out with the bathwater.
BRIEN LEWIS
Senior
Political science
Beall's actions have
legitimate reasons
To the editor:
Several recent letters have
lambasted Jeffrey Beall for his
efforts to achieve a new referen
dum on the Student Rec Center,
his Student Congress resolution
supporting a woman's right to
abortion and his current drive to
recall DTH editor Sharon
Kebschull. One writer, Robert
Brown ("Beall's crusades only to
get him attention," Oct. 9), insists,
as do several others, that Beall
efforts are merely to get attention.
The unfortunate truth is that Jef
frey Beall is a very shy person
who is arguably very much un
suited for all the negative public
ity he has recently received. Un
like a majority of Student Con
gress members, Beall does what
he thinks is right, not what is
simply popular. It stands to rea
son that if someone is going to
seek publicity, they want positive
publicity, not the petty insults and
misleading accusations to which
Beall has been exposed. Indeed, it
seems that the best test of
someone's sincerity is their will
ingness to take an unpopular stand,
as Beall has done repeatedly.
Contrary to Brown's researched
assertions, Beall had legitimate
reasons for questioning the origi
nal SRC vote, from questions of
the representativeness of the vote
to outright misinformation from
the CAA. Unfortunately, the
majority of Student Congress ei
ther didn't care, or considered only
their personal feelings on the SRC
rather than their constituents'
interests. An excellent example
of this group of off-campus repre
sentatives who voted against a
new referendum even though a
large number of their constituents
were already paying for athletic
facilities in their apartment com
plexes. Beall didn't think this was
right, and he also didn't think that
freshmen who didn't have a voice
in the $13 a semester fee increase
should be overlooked. Although
Brown, a freshman, says he has
"no problem trusting those stu
dents" who voted away his money,
it is very possible that a large
number of freshmen who do have
both brain halves might not be so
willing to consent to taxation
without representation.
Beall also has legitimate rea
sons to petition for a revote for
Sharon Kebschull's office. Dur
ing the recent debate over the SRC
referendum, Kebschull refused to
print a letter from a physical edu
cation faculty member that would
have provided previously un
known information to students. A
press release concerning the SRC
that Beall left in Kebschull's box
at the DTH was in CAA President
Lisa Frye's hands within two
hours. A DTH staff member, Will
Spears, tried to steal a blank copy
of Beall's petition from his box in
the Student Congress office. Beall
called for an investigation of this
matter by Kebschull in his press
release on the recall vote, and he
named witnesses to the attempted
theft. Somehow, in the midst of
all their "unbiased" reporting, the
DTH forgot to mention this.
All of these are legitimate rea
sons for Beall to seek a revote for
Kebschull's position. Whether they
are sufficient to replace Kebschull
is debatable. Despite her hostility
to past actions by Beall, she has, to
her credit, made an effort to allow
both sides of an issue to be heard.
Whether her efforts as editor have
been up to par for students is some
thing only the students can decide.
Attacking someone so unimposing
and mild-mannered as Jeff Beall
for doing what he sincerely thinks
is right, however, is uncalled for.
Furthermore, to mindlessly believe
that the original SRC vote is un
questionable, and that the DTH is
unbiased, is just plain stupid. I
suggest that Robert Brown do some
research before pontificating on
matters of which he knows little, if
anything at all.
ANTHONY WOODLIEF
Senior
Political science
Letters policy
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes
reader comments and criticisms.
When writing letters to the editor,
please follow these guidelines:
All letters must be dated and
signed by the authorfs), with a limit
of two signatures per letter.
All letters must be typed and
double-spaced, for ease of editing.
Letters should include the
author's year, major, phone num
ber and hometown.
The DTH reserves the right to
edit letters for space, clarity and
vulgarity. Remember, brevity is the
soul of wit.
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